Amsterdam arrivals #2: a new urban lobby (Opening Event workshop)

ISHF research team

About

Recent global migration waves have fueled intense debates in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and beyond. Migration is of all ages however, and comes in many varieties – nomadic, circulatory, refugee, settler, temporary, an many more. Instead of a perceiving it as a problem, being open to varying types of migration could also be highly beneficial to both newly arrived migrants as well as Amsterdam itself. In response to these debates, the Urban Lobby research project aims to imagine a Special Social Zone in Amsterdam, where through experimental policies and speculative design a space of arrival for these migrants could be carved out, spurring interaction between migrants and the original population. Taking the Wittenburg Island in Amsterdam as a case study, the research has examined the possibilities of the densification of this residential area by merging new social housing and working typologies with existing public buildings, actors and agents. During this workshop, Hršak and Klijn will present their findings and their proposal, while participants are invited to collaborate on a collective reality check.

The research is done in collaboration between FABRICations, Bureau LADA and Failed Architecture.

Speakers

Olv Klijnis founding partner and Principal at FABRICations, an award winning design practice involved in architecture, urbanism and regional strategies. Founded in 2007 with Eric Frijters, the office’s work focuses on the spatial impact of a socially, economically and ecologically better environment. In combination, Olv Klijn is also Assistant Professor at the chair of Dwelling at the Technical University Delft. He studied architecture at the Eindhoven University of Technology and graduated Cum Laude. As an artist in residence Klijn studied the impact of current urbanization patterns at the American West Coast stayed at the Banff Centre in Canada. Klijn is (co)author of several books such as ‘VMX Agenda’, ’10 x Den Bosch’, ‘Station Centraal’, ‘Architect by accident’ and ‘The making of …’ and published in various journals. In 2007 he founded FABRICations together with Eric Frijters and as of then involved in the design and research of architecture, urbanism and regional strategies. In 2010 they won the Prix de Rome, the price for architects up to 35 years. In 2011 Klijn was recognized as one of the 40 emerging European architects under 40 years old. One year later he was nominated for the Iakov Chernikhov International Architecture Prize ‘for designers, that stands in the field experiment with innovative architecture, education and research in architecture and urbanism.’

Bureau LADA (Landscape, Architecture, Design, Art) is a cross-disciplinary Amsterdam based studio with a focus on experimental and performative architecture. Established in 2010 by architect and urbanist Lada Hršak, the studio introduces poetry, wit and wisdom in it’s design projects, research and strategies.

Following her training at Faculty of Architecture at University of Zagreb, Hršak completed the postgraduate program at The Berlage Institute in Amsterdam. Parallel to her design work, she holds several teaching engagements (Delft University of Technology, Academy of Architecture Amsterdam, Academy of Architecture Rotterdam, Royal Academy of the Arts The Hague KBAK, Faculty of Architecture Auckland University) and is member of Advisory Committee for the Dutch Creative Industries Fund.